Woman In Wheelchair Rescued

NEWPORT NEWS — Three neighbors lift her off the porch after her garage caught fire.

Neighbors rushed to the aid of a wheelchair-bound woman Friday morning when the garage of her house caught fire.

Tracie Rogers, who has cerebral palsy, was in her Quarterfield Road house with her mother when the fire broke out in the attached garage just after 11 a.m. Because of the heat and smoke, the pair couldn't get out the front door and down the wheelchair ramp.

Beverly Rogers, who has asthma, was ready to push her daughter down the back steps from the porch when three neighbors ran up and helped, carrying the wheelchair and its occupant to safety. No one was injured.

"As soon as I saw them, I knew we had to get them off the porch," said neighbor Loretta Cheely. "It was just something you do instinctively."

Investigators attributed the fire to an overloaded surge protector in the one-car garage.

There was no car in the garage, but it was full of furniture waiting to be moved back inside. The Rogers had recently finished renovations to their home from damage caused by Hurricane Isabel, which brought five trees down on the house.

The fire destroyed the furniture, along with a motorized wheelchair that was also in the garage. The family has homeowners' insurance.

Firefighters contained the fire to the garage, but the house received smoke and water damage, said Newport News Fire Department spokeswoman Dana Perry. The family planned to stay with relatives or in a hotel. *